Pakistan's new prime minister frees deposed chief justice

Laura King, Los Angeles Times

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Photo: EMILIO MORENATTI

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###Live Caption:Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry waves to his supporters from the balcony of his residence after his release, Monday, March, 24, 2008 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's deposed chief justice emerged onto his balcony after more than four months under house arrest. It is Chaudhry's first public appearance since President Pervez Musharraf purged the courts to protect his disputed presidency from legal challenges. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)###Caption History:Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry waves to his supporters from the balcony of his residence after his release, Monday, March, 24, 2008 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's deposed chief justice emerged onto his balcony after more than four months under house arrest. It is Chaudhry's first public appearance since President Pervez Musharraf purged the courts to protect his disputed presidency from legal challenges. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)###Notes:###Special Instructions: less

###Live Caption:Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry waves to his supporters from the balcony of his residence after his release, Monday, March, 24, 2008 in Islamabad, Pakistan. ... more

Photo: EMILIO MORENATTI

Pakistan's new prime minister frees deposed chief justice

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Pakistan's deposed chief justice, an icon of resistance to the rule of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, emerged late Monday from nearly five months of house arrest. He was freed as the first act of a Benazir Bhutto loyalist elected as prime minister hours earlier.

The release of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is the latest tumultuous twist in a Pakistani political saga that over the past year has seen the fall from grace of the U.S.-backed Musharraf, the Dec. 27 assassination of Bhutto and the triumph of her party in last month's elections.

Yousaf Raza Gilani, chosen as prime minister by Bhutto's party and its main coalition partner over the weekend, won an overwhelming endorsement by parliament. Addressing lawmakers, he said he was ordering the release of Chaudhry and other detained judges.

Gilani's confirmation was an emotional moment for Bhutto's followers, who had hoped that when she returned from exile to lead her party in elections that she would claim the post. Her 19-year-old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, wept as he watched the vote tally from the gallery. Moments later, he pumped Gilani's hand, smiling through his tears.

The new prime minister was to sign an executive order freeing the judges Tuesday following his formal swearing-in, but joyous supporters of the chief justice weren't waiting for that.

With police looking on but not intervening, hundreds of Chaudhry's backers breached police barricades and mobbed the residence where the popular chief justice had been under house arrest since Nov. 3, when Musharraf declared martial law and fired dozens of judges in part to avoid a legal challenge to his own election.

After hours of cheering and chanting by the crowd in his front yard, Chaudhry emerged onto the villa's balcony surrounded by his family, briefly thanking pro-democracy activists who had fought for his freedom.

"We believe in the rule of law," he told supporters, who danced and waved flags and portraits of him.

The new ruling coalition has said it would move within 30 days to restore the previous judiciary - a step that, if carried out, would represent a sharp new challenge to Musharraf and could prompt his resignation.

The former general, who seized power in a 1999 coup, imposed a six-week state of emergency late last year and ousted dozens of judges as the Supreme Court was poised to rule on the validity of his election by the previous parliament. It was thought that the ruling would go against him.

The parliament's 264-42 vote Monday endorsing Gilani as prime minister was seen as a barometer of broad sentiment against Musharraf, who has been a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Bhutto's party and another opposition party led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have formed a new ruling coalition that has expressed determination to relegate Musharraf to the sidelines, if not oust him altogether.

Gilani, a former assembly speaker, spent nearly five years in jail under Musharraf, refusing to make a deal with the government to get out of prison. Many people believed the charges against him were politically motivated.

Aides said Gilani will begin selecting his Cabinet ministers as soon as he is sworn in.